Head and shoulders image of Dr. Althea N. Burton, professor of Veterinary Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Althea N. Burton was born in 1914 in Viscount, Saskatchewan, and at an early age moved with her family to Saskatoon. Although her early formal education ended in grade eight, she was determined to become a research microbiologist. Dr. Burton worked during the day, attended night courses and completed high school. She then enrolled in the University of Toronto, where she was the only female veterinary student. By working and earning scholarships Dr. Burton supported herself through her university years. In 1947 she graduated near the top of her class, earning her DVM with a major in Microbiology. In 1950 Dr. Burton received a Research Fellowship from the Canadian National Research Council to carry out postgraduate studies. Some of these studies were carried out at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, U.S. Public Health Service in Hamilton, Montana. After which, she went to the Virus and Rickettsial Laboratory, Berkeley, California. Later, she was invited to be a guest at the Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Burton’s studies with the U.S. Public Health Service earned her a specialization in Virology. She used this specialization in her research at the University of Saskatchewan where she was involved in the study of Diseases in Nature Communicable to Man (principally Encephalitis). Dr. Burton married Dr. Ian Murdoch Dryden (1921-1977) in 1972. He was a 1950 graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College. After her retirement and the death of her husband in 1977, Dr. Burton moved to Calgary where she made many friends, enjoyed her hobbies of painting and bowling, and found fellowship at Bethel Baptist Church. Dr. Burton died in 2008 and is buried in Calgary with “Althea Dryden” on the headstone.